Commercial Yellowtail Snapper Fishing in the Gulf of Mexico States

Yellowtail snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus, Bloch, 1791, Fig. 1) are olive to bluish-black, with yellow spots, a yellow stripe along the side of the body, and a yellow, deeply-forked tail (http://myfwc.com/). The scientific name roughly translates to “swift-swimming golden fish” (https://safmc.net/). Their range extends from Massachusetts south to Brazil, but they are most abundant throughout Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean (http://www.fishbase.org/). Yellowtail snapper are

Figure 1. Yellowtail snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus, Bloch, 1791). The photo was taken by Amanda E. Jefferson.

schooling fish, like vermilion snapper (https://safmc.net/). Yellowtail snapper grow up to 30 inches or 8 pounds, but commonly reach lengths of 15 inches, and can live to 14 years (http://www.fishbase.org/). Yellowtail snapper mainly inhabit coral reefs in coastal, tropical waters (http://myfwc.com/). Yellowtail

Page 1 of 7 snapper feed on a combination of plankton and benthic animals such as fishes, crustaceans, worms, gastropods, and cephalopods, mainly at night (http://www.fishbase.org/). Spawning occurs throughout the year, and juveniles typically inhabit weed beds and feed on plankton (http://www.fishbase.org/).

Yellowtail snapper are marketed fresh or frozen, and have been reared in captivity (http://www.fishbase.org/). They are considered data deficient by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (http://www.fishbase.org/). The U.S. South Atlantic and the Northern Gulf of Mexico yellowtail snapper are combined for stock assessment purposes but are managed separately (https://www.fishsource.org/). The most recent stock assessment (2012) indicated that this combined population is not overfished or experiencing overfishing (https://www.fishsource.org/). In fact, the population was estimated to be three times the size for maximum sustainable yield (https://www.fishsource.org/). Nonetheless, managers have implemented an annual catch limit for commercial and recreational portions of the fishery as a precautionary measure (https://www.fishsource.org/).

Recipe for Seared Yellowtail Snapper with Fresh Vegetables and Citrus Vinaigrette

Figure 2. This recipe is courtesy of https://abc.go.com/. For ingredients and cooking instructions, please visit https://abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/cast-iron-seared-yellowtail-snapper-yardbird

Commercial Landings

The long-term annual commercial yellowtail snapper landings in the Gulf of Mexico states are shown in Fig. 3. Since 2011, the Florida West Coast supplied 94.5% of the whole yellowtail snapper domestic landings averaging 2.0 million pounds and valued at $5.9 million annually. The Eastern Atlantic states provided the rest of the total domestic landings. Dockside prices of yellowtail snapper averaged about $3.00 per pound during the past six years (Fig. 4).

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Figure 3. Annual commercial yellowtail snapper landings in the Gulf of Mexico states. Source of raw data: NOAA Fisheries. Last visited: July 5, 2018. http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/.

Figure 4. Average annual dockside prices of commercial yellowtail snapper landings in the Gulf of Mexico states. Source of raw data: NOAA Fisheries. Last visited: July 5, 2018. http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/.

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MarketMaker Businesses

In 2016, the Gulf-wide commercial landings of yellowtail snapper reached 2.3 million pounds with dockside values of $6.9 million. Yellowtail snapper are harvested year-round (Fig. 5). More than 80 businesses which catch, process, and sell snapper products are registered in MarketMaker nationwide. There are some businesses which promote their snapper products in Mississippi MarketMaker (Fig. 6).

Figure 5. Monthly commercial yellowtail snapper landings in the Gulf of Mexico states. Source of raw data: NOAA Fisheries. Last visited: July 5, 2018. http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/.

To search for snapper businesses, perform the following procedures:

1. Go to http://ms.foodmarketmaker.com 2. Click “search” and type “Snapper” in the product box. 3. You can sort the search results by relevance and name. 4. You can also limit online searches by state, county, city or number of miles from a specified location, and type of business.

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Figure 6. Seafood businesses which promote their snapper products in Mississippi MarketMaker. Last visited: July 6, 2018. http://ms.foodmarketmaker.com.

Economic Contributions

The economic contribution commercial yellowtail snapper fishing makes region-wide is crucial information in making private investment decisions, formulating government policy, and developing research and extension programs for the industry. The IMPLAN (http://implan.com/) software and the 2013 input-output data for the five Gulf States were used to estimate the economic contribution of commercial fishing to the Gulf of Mexico regional economy in 2016. The economic analysis used sector 17 or commercial fishing of the 2013 IMPLAN input-output data.

The annual commercial dockside values of yellowtail snapper in the Gulf of Mexico states in 2016 reached $6.9 million, which was 22.7% more than the average yearly dockside values in the region since 2011. The total output contribution of commercial Yellowtail snapper fishing in 2016 amounted to $13.2 million (Fig. 7). The yellowtail snapper commercial fishing sustained 183 jobs and generated labor income amounting to $4.7 million in the Gulf regional economy.

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The yellowtail snapper commercial fishing industry generates annual tax revenues for the Gulf States and the U.S. federal government. More than $800,000 was projected to have been paid by households and businesses in 2016 to the federal government as social insurance tax, tax on production and imports, corporate profit tax, and personal income tax. The Gulf States were anticipated to have collected taxes from households and businesses in 2016 amounting to almost $400,000 as social insurance tax, tax on production and imports, corporate profits tax, and personal tax.

Figure 7. The total economic contribution includes direct, indirect and induced effects estimated by using 2016 annual landing values and 2013 IMPLAN data. The local purchases percentage was set at 100%. The number of jobs is rounded off.

Promote your Products in Season

As a member of MarketMaker, you can promote your products in season at the MarketMaker BUY or SELL Forum. Registration is FREE and simple. You can view the current listing of products posted at the MarketMaker BUY or SELL Forum at https://ms.foodmarketmaker.com/ (Fig. 8).

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Figure 8. Food businesses which promote their products and service in MarketMaker Buy and Sell Forum. Last visited: July 6, 2018. http://ms.foodmarketmaker.com.

Suggested citation:

Posadas, B.C., and A.E. Jefferson. Commercial Yellowtail snapper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico states. Mississippi MarketMaker Newsletter, Vol. 8, No. 10, July 10, 2018. http://extension.msstate.edu/newsletters/mississippi-marketmaker.

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